The Car That Never Was: The Bizarre True Story of the Dale Hoax
In 1974, America was in the middle of an oil crisis. Gas prices were skyrocketing, and people were desperate for a cheaper way to drive. Enter the Dale.
It looked like a spaceship. It had three wheels, weighed less than 1,000 pounds, and promised an unbelievable 70 miles per gallon. The price? Just $1,969. It sounded too good to be true. And, as thousands of investors would soon find out, it was.
But the story of the car isn't nearly as wild as the story of the person who created it: Liz Carmichael.
The Woman Behind the Machine
Geraldine Elizabeth "Liz" Carmichael was a force of nature. Standing over 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, she was charismatic, aggressive, and convincing. She founded the Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation and sold the dream of the Dale to the American public.
She appeared on game shows, gave fiery interviews, and claimed she would take down giants like General Motors and Ford. Millions of dollars poured in from investors who wanted to own the car of the future.
The Murder at the Office
Things started to get weird when a salesman at the company was found shot to death in his office. The police started asking questions, not just about the murder, but about the company itself.
Reporters and investigators wanted to see the factory. They wanted to see the engineering. When they finally got a look under the hood of the prototype "Dale," they were shocked.
- The "high-tech" body was made of resin and fiberglass, crudely glued together.
- The engine was actually a small lawnmower engine.
- The doors were attached with simple household hinges.
- The car couldn't even drive under its own power.
The Great Reveal
As the law closed in, Liz Carmichael went on the run. When the FBI finally caught up, they discovered a secret that shocked the nation. Liz Carmichael wasn't just a con artist; she was a fugitive named Jerry Dean Michael.
Jerry had been on the run since 1961 for counterfeiting money and jumping bail. He had transitioned into living as a woman, reinvented himself as Liz Carmichael, and pulled off one of the biggest automotive scams in history while hiding in plain sight.
The End of the Road
The Dale never went into production. The millions of dollars collected from hopeful customers vanished. Liz (Jerry) was eventually caught, tried, and sent to prison, but escaped again and lived in hiding for years working as a flower vendor in Texas.
The Dale car remains a symbol of the 1970s—a strange, yellow, three-wheeled reminder that if something looks too good to be true, it probably has a lawnmower engine inside.
